Cover for a toothbrush head

ABSTRACT

Cover for a toothbrush head having a spherical body simulating a small ball capable of receiving the brush head inside. The spherical body incorporates an orifice or opening of “T” configuration that is slightly larger than the cross section of the brush head with its bristles. The inside of the spherical body incorporates a sleeve, in a diametrical arrangement, whose outer mouth fits the orifice or window of the spherical body, while its rear mouth is closed either by a partition associated with the actual sleeve or by the corresponding wall of the spherical body. The sleeve and spherical body are secured together by adhesive, heat-welding or any other appropriate conventional manner.

SUBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cover for the head of a toothbrushthat, as said cover, has the function of covering and protecting saidhead, especially the bristles involved therein, preventing its soilingduring periods when the brush is not being used.

The object of the invention is to achieve a protector that is attractiveto its young consumer-public, giving rise to a greater tendency to brushthe teeth and also offering optimum hygiene conditions and very easyhandling.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As is known, it is customary for toothbrushes to have a protector forcover for their head, which prevents soiling of the bristles involvedtherein as a result of the brush accidentally falling to the floor,owing to the deposition of dust, etc.

In an attempt to make the protector attractive to the consumer-public,especially in the case of children or juveniles, the actual applicanthappened upon the idea of using a protector that in addition tofulfilling its function as a protector resembled a small footballcapable of accommodating the head of a toothbrush inside it.

The first practical embodiment of this idea is contemplated in UtilityModel U 9700451, in which the protector consists of two halves, hingedtogether, between which there is an orifice whose shape and sizecoincide with the cross section of the brush in its area close to thehead. Although it provides an optimum level of protection for the headof the brush, this solution nevertheless, as a fundamental problem, issomewhat difficult to handle since at each operating cycle of the brushit is necessary to open the protector in order to extract the brush fromit and to close it again after the brush has been re-introduced therein,all this with a hinge mechanism involving a high risk of damage orbreakage owing to the permanent stresses to which it will be subjected,all the above being simultaneous with appreciable structural complexity.

In an attempt to obviate this problem, the actual applicant arrived atan alternative for the protector, namely that shown in Utility Model U9702520, in which, retaining the configuration of the protector similarto that of a small football, said protector assumed a single-piece form,essentially spherical and hollow, with a window in its side wall thatwas, in terms of shape and size, adapted to the profile or cross sectionof the head with its bristles, such that said head could be “pluggedinto” the protector, where it was perfectly guided and stabilized withthe cooperation of internal partitions emerging from the surroundingspherical body, some parallel to and others perpendicular to the head ofthe brush, but in both cases with their edges located in imaginaryplanes, extending the edges of the outer “T”-shaped orifice forinsertion of the head.

This solution is structurally more simple and very appreciably extendsthe service life of the protector, but it still presents a problem interms of two fundamental aspects:

on the one hand, the operation of coupling the head of the brush insidethe protector presents difficulties, since in the initial stage there isa possibility that the head will tilt a great deal with respect to theprotector, i.e. the latter in the majority of cases is not opposite itsguides, which requires operations of lateral tilting of the brush withrespect to the protector until the correct coupling position isachieved;

on the other hand, the inner partitions of the hollow body define,inside the protector, cells or spaces that are very difficult to accessand that promote the accumulation of dirt and consequently veryunsatisfactory conditions of cleanliness, which means that the protectorleaves much to be desired in terms of hygiene.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The cover proposed by the invention, in the form of the second type ofprotector of those mentioned above, i.e. that consisting of asubstantially spherical, single-piece body provided with a housing forthe head of the brush, fully satisfactorily solves the problem set forthabove in terms of the two aspects commented upon.

To that end, more specifically, and on the basis of the conventional“T”-shaped orifice of the spherical wall of the cover, for penetrationof the head, the invention consists in over-sizing said orifice withrespect to the head by a degree sufficient to allow the coupling thereinof a sleeve with the same “T”-shaped cross section, which extends insidethe spherical body as far as a point diametrically opposite said entryorifice, said sleeve being closed at the back and being coupled to andfixed tightly into said orifice via its mouth such that it forms acompartment inside the spherical body that is totally separate from therest thereof and that fits the head of the brush in such a manner thatsaid compartment, as it has continuous, planar walls of constant crosssection, can easily be cleaned in order to keep it permanently inoptimum condition in terms of hygiene, at the same time as it guaranteeseasy, rapid and convenient coupling/uncoupling of the head inside it asthere is no interior element against which said head can collide andwhich might tend to prevent its longitudinal displacement.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To supplement the description being given and in order to assist bettercomprehension of the characteristics of the invention, in accordancewith a preferred practical illustrative embodiment thereof, saiddescription is accompanied, as an integral part thereof, by a set ofdrawings in which, in an illustrative and non-limiting manner, thefollowing has been shown:

FIG. 1—This shows a perspective exploded view of a cover for atoothbrush head produced in accordance with the object of the presentinvention, alongside which there is a partial representation of thecomplementary brush, specifically its end that corresponds to the head;

FIG. 2—This shows a detail in lateral elevation and in longitudinalsection of the whole represented in the previous figure, duly assembled;

FIG. 3—Lastly, this shows a detail of the above in cross section.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

An examination of the above figures shows how the cover proposed by theinvention consists of a hollow, spherical body (1) provided on its outersurface with a plurality of grooves, simulated seams or any other typeof reticulated pattern defining pentagonal and hexagonal areas on saidsurface with the aim of said body (1) resembling a small football, withthe special feature that the wall of said hollow, spherical body (1) hasa wide orifice or opening (2) of “T” configuration, essentiallycoinciding with the profile of the head (3) of the toothbrush that thecover is designed to receive, but substantially over-sized with respectto said profile, as stated above.

Inside the hollow, spherical body (1), in a diametrical arrangement,there is a sleeve (4) of constant cross section, which cross sectioncoincides in terms of shape and size with that of the head (3) of thetoothbrush, including its bristles (5), which it is designed to receivein a close fit.

This sleeve (4) has a front, or outer, mouth (6) with said “T”-shapedcross section suitable for receiving the head (3-5) of the brush andincluded in a curved imaginary plane, coinciding with the curvature ofthe actual spherical body (1) so that its edges are perfectly flush withthe orifice (2) of the much-mentioned spherical body (1), it beingpossible for said sleeve (4) to be closed by its back wall (7), which isalso curved/convex, or be closed by means of the actual wall of thehollow, spherical body (1) to which, in any case, the sleeve (4) isnon-removably fixed by means of adhesive, ultrasonic welding, etc.

In any event, given the constant cross section and the continuousinternal surface of the sleeve (4), the head (3-5) of the brush caneasily be coupled into and decoupled from its inside, said sleeve (4) atthe same time forming, inside the spherical body (1), a compartment thatis totally separate from the rest of the spherical body (1), whichcompartment, as it also has a continuous cross section and smoothsurfaces, can easily be cleaned for maintenance purposes andconsequently to keep the cover as the whole in optimum hygieniccondition.

It remains only to point out, lastly that, as is obvious, the length ofthe sleeve (4) must be equal to or greater than the length of the head(3) of the brush in order to achieve integral protection of all itsbristles (5).

1. Cover for a toothbrush head of the type consisting of a sphericalbody simulating a small ball capable of receiving the brush head inside,characterized in that said spherical body incorporates an orifice oropening of “T” configuration that is slightly larger than the crosssection of the brush head with its bristles, the inside of the sphericalbody incorporating a sleeve, in a diametrical arrangement, whose outermouth fits the orifice or window of the spherical body, whilst its rearmouth is closed either by means of a partition associated with theactual sleeve or by the corresponding wall of the spherical body, sleeveand spherical body being duly secured together by means of adhesive,heat-welding or any other appropriate conventional means.
 2. Cover for atoothbrush head according to claim 1, characterized in that the outermouth of the sleeve, that which corresponds to the orifice or opening ofthe spherical body, is included in an imaginary curved plane whosecurvature coincides with that of the spherical body so that said mouthof the sleeve is flush with the opening or orifice of the sphericalbody.